The hosts are heading into the tie on the back of a 2-0 win over Colchester last Saturday, while it would be Benfica's first friendly of the new campaign.
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Reading FC will host SL Benfica in a pre-season friendly at St. George’s Park-Pitch 8 on Saturday. The hosts are heading into the tie on the back of a 2-0 win over Colchester last Saturday. Meanwhile, Benfica will be hoping to begin their pre-season tour on a high against England’s championship outfit. The two clubs will be facing each other for the very first time and the Portuguese giants will be the favourites to come out on top because of their superior quality and strength of the squad at their disposal.
? The boys have arrived in England!#WeAreBenfica | #PreSeason pic.twitter.com/Fle5hk7vnl
— SL Benfica (@slbenfica_en) July 8, 2022
Reading managed to avoid relegation from the Championship last season by the skin of their teeth. Paul Ince, who took charge of the team as an interim manager last February after the departure of Veljko Paunovic, has been appointed as the permanent manager for the upcoming season. The English outfit has been training at St George ‘s Park for the last week and will go on to face Maidenhead United, West Ham United, AFC Wimbledon and Brighton & Hove Albion in pre-season friendlies after Saturday’s game against Benfica.
Benfica, on the other hand, will be looking to forget about their rare trophyless season as soon as possible and move forward. The Eagles finished third in the 2021-22 Primeira Liga, lost to Sporting in the Taca da Liga final and were eliminated in the Champions League quarter-finals by runner-ups Liverpool. German coach Roger Schmidt has been brought in to end the trophy drought and they have been busy in the transfer market, bringing in David Neres, Enzo Fernandez, Alexander Bah, Petar Musa and Mihailo Ristic.
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It’s difficult to predict how Reading would line up against Benfica because of the number of players who have left the club recently and lack of new signings. The likes of Ovie Ejaria, Lumley and Lucas Joao, who were all involved against Colchester, could feature against Benfica. As for the Portuguese giants, Schmidt would be looking to find a replacement for Darwin Nunez, who has departed the club to join Liverpool this summer. New signings Neres, Fernandez, Bah, Musa and Ristic could be given an opportunity to showcase their abilities and gel with the team. The German coach is expected to rotate the squad in order to give game time to the squad and understand the team better.
The Pre-season friendly match between Reading and Benfica will take place at the St. George’s Park-Pitch 8 on Saturday at 8:30 pm IST.
| Reading vs Benfica | Key details |
| Date | July 9 |
| Venue | St. George’s Park-Pitch 8 |
| Kickoff time in India | 8:30 pm |
| Kickoff time in UK | 4:00 pm |
Unfortunately, there is no concrete information available on live streaming or telecast for the pre-season friendly between Reading and Benfica. The match will be held behind closed doors. We will update the viewers as and when any information about streaming of the match becomes available.
